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Pray For Salvation With The Best Metallica Song Ever

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Pray For Salvation With The Best Metallica Song Ever

Every day, we bring you the best thing we've seen on YouTube - a great piece of archive footage, a music promo or a clip from one of our favourite movies or TV shows. Today: See surreal video for Metallica’s “Enter Sandman.” The song written by Kirk Hammett, James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich is a jagged, rifftastic anaysis of childhood nightmares – and the video matches this perfectly. You can read the guys describe in their own words the writing and recording of this 1991 classic in the March issue of Uncut, available now. But first, brace yourself for a classic horror film condensed into 5½ minutes. Kid, watch out for that lorry! See the video by clicking here now

Every day, we bring you the best thing we’ve seen on YouTube – a great piece of archive footage, a music promo or a clip from one of our favourite movies or TV shows.

Today: See surreal video for Metallica’s “Enter Sandman.”

The song written by Kirk Hammett, James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich is a jagged, rifftastic anaysis of childhood nightmares – and the video matches this perfectly.

You can read the guys describe in their own words the writing and recording of this 1991 classic in the March issue of Uncut, available now.

But first, brace yourself for a classic horror film condensed into 5½ minutes.

Kid, watch out for that lorry!

See the video by clicking here now

Snow Patrol Hoping To Open Your Eyes

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Snow Patrol Hoping To Open Your Eyes

Snow Patrol will be donating the proceeds from their next single “Open Your Eyes” to a long-term Save The Children’s campaign, to help standards of education in war-torn countries. The rockers will giving 10% of royalties to boost the campaign, and the band’s record label Polydor, have also shown their charitable side by agreeing to match the donation. Gary Lightbody explained why they have chosen to back the Save The Children’s Rewrite The Future campaign, saying, "The donation from this single will help, but it is also about putting pressure on governments to open their eyes and their pockets and provide enough funding to make sure all children get a chance to go to school." A spokesman for the charity, Ben Hewitt, has expressed his delight at having Snow Patrol on board, saying, "Having Britain's biggest selling band supporting one of Save the Children's key campaigns keeps the issue alive. We need to keep the momentum generated by Make Poverty History. By helping children now we set them up for the future." Snow Patrol are renowned for supporting humanitarian causes. They have previously supported Amnesty International’s Make Some Noise campaign. The group also appeared in London at Live8 in 2005. "Open Your Eyes" is due for release on February 12. To see the video for the new single – click here to go to Snow Patrol’s official website

Snow Patrol will be donating the proceeds from their next single “Open Your Eyes” to a long-term Save The Children’s campaign, to help standards of education in war-torn countries.

The rockers will giving 10% of royalties to boost the campaign, and the band’s record label Polydor, have also shown their charitable side by agreeing to match the donation.

Gary Lightbody explained why they have chosen to back the Save The Children’s Rewrite The Future campaign, saying, “The donation from this single will help, but it is also about putting pressure on governments to open their eyes and their pockets and provide enough funding to make sure all children get a chance to go to school.”

A spokesman for the charity, Ben Hewitt, has expressed his delight at having Snow Patrol on board, saying, “Having Britain’s biggest selling band supporting one of Save the Children’s key campaigns keeps the issue alive. We need to keep the momentum generated by Make Poverty History. By helping children now we set them up for the future.”

Snow Patrol are renowned for supporting humanitarian causes. They have previously supported Amnesty International’s Make Some Noise campaign.

The group also appeared in London at Live8 in 2005.

“Open Your Eyes” is due for release on February 12.

To see the video for the new single – click here to go to Snow Patrol’s official website

Iron Maiden To Rock Donington Once More

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Iron Maiden To Rock Donington Once More

The first three headliners for this years’ Download rock festival have been announced, and it looks like it’s going to be even bigger than last year. The event, now in it’s fifth year, is to take place on the 8, 9, and 10 June at the historically rocking venue, Donington Park. Download 2007 will see headline performances from three of the biggest-selling rock acts in the world – Iron Maiden, My Chemical Romance and Linkin Park. Iron Maiden are continuing their love affair with Donington Park. Bruce Dickinson’s mob have played many storming headline sets at the racetrack-turned-venue since 1988. They last headlined in 2003. My Chemical Romance are to headline the opening night, showing just how quickly their legion of fans have grown. MCR guitarist Frank Lero is delighted to have landed the gig: “Being asked to headline Download festival was definitely a milestone in our lives. Just two years ago we were playing the side stage and now we’re closing the main stage – a slot previously filled by Metallica, Guns N’ Roses and even Black Sabbath! These are legendary bands. I just can’t wait to play.” Festival organisers have promised enhancements to the festival site this year – there will be extended camping facilities and an environmentally friendly ethos, with provisions for recycling being implemented for the first time. Weekend tickets including camping are available from today, priced £145. More acts will be confirmed soon. Click here for the Download Festival website

The first three headliners for this years’ Download rock festival have been announced, and it looks like it’s going to be even bigger than last year.

The event, now in it’s fifth year, is to take place on the 8, 9, and 10 June at the historically rocking venue, Donington Park.

Download 2007 will see headline performances from three of the biggest-selling rock acts in the world – Iron Maiden, My Chemical Romance and Linkin Park.

Iron Maiden are continuing their love affair with Donington Park. Bruce Dickinson’s mob have played many storming headline sets at the racetrack-turned-venue since 1988. They last headlined in 2003.

My Chemical Romance are to headline the opening night, showing just how quickly their legion of fans have grown. MCR guitarist Frank Lero is delighted to have landed the gig: “Being asked to headline Download festival was definitely a milestone in our lives. Just two years ago we were playing the side stage and now we’re closing the main stage – a slot previously filled by Metallica, Guns N’ Roses and even Black Sabbath! These are legendary bands. I just can’t wait to play.”

Festival organisers have promised enhancements to the festival site this year – there will be extended camping facilities and an environmentally friendly ethos, with provisions for recycling being implemented for the first time.

Weekend tickets including camping are available from today, priced £145.

More acts will be confirmed soon.

Click here for the Download Festival website

The Police finally confirm reunion

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The Police finally confirm reunion

The long-anticipated reformation of The Police has finally been confirmed. The group have announced that they will perform together at the Grammy Awards next month, the BBC reports. Sting, Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers’ comeback gig will be the opening act of this year’s ceremony in Los Angeles on February 11. It is 30 years since the group formed, and rumours have been circulating recently that the trio would undertake a highly profitable anniversary tour. In a recent interview with Uncut.co.uk, Stewart Copeland was remarkably candid about the prospect of a reunion, dismissing criticism that it would just be a publicity stunt: “Are reformations pointless? Not if the music is really good and there’s an audience for it. I don’t think in terms of strategy; for me, if a show looks like fun, with good players, I’ll go do it and I don’t think about what the ramifications are” Will the one-off gig tarnish their legacy? “I don’t think in terms of “spoiling” the past,” said Copeland. “If there was a show, I would have no doubt that the three of us would be everything that we’d need to be.” Today’s announcement has further fuelled industry gossip about the possibility of further concerts – and maybe even that tour. Watch this space for more. To read Stewart Copeland's Uncut Q&A - click here

The long-anticipated reformation of The Police has finally been confirmed.

The group have announced that they will perform together at the Grammy Awards next month, the BBC reports.

Sting, Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers’ comeback gig will be the opening act of this year’s ceremony in Los Angeles on February 11.

It is 30 years since the group formed, and rumours have been circulating recently that the trio would undertake a highly profitable anniversary tour.

In a recent interview with Uncut.co.uk, Stewart Copeland was remarkably candid about the prospect of a reunion, dismissing criticism that it would just be a publicity stunt: “Are reformations pointless? Not if the music is really good and there’s an audience for it. I don’t think in terms of strategy; for me, if a show looks like fun, with good players, I’ll go do it and I don’t think about what the ramifications are”

Will the one-off gig tarnish their legacy? “I don’t think in terms of “spoiling” the past,” said Copeland. “If there was a show, I would have no doubt that the three of us would be everything that we’d need to be.”

Today’s announcement has further fuelled industry gossip about the possibility of further concerts – and maybe even that tour. Watch this space for more.

To read Stewart Copeland’s Uncut Q&A – click here

Uncut’s 2007 Sundance Film Festival Top 10

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Uncut’s 2007 Sundance Film Festival Top 10

1. Manda Bala (Send a Bullet) Jason Kohn’s dystopian doc is a brilliant, eye-opening essay on endemic corruption and inequality in Brazil, filtered through stories of kidnapping, frog farms, ear reconstruction and political chicanery. The winner of the Grand Jury Prize for Documentary lives up to the director’s own description: Robocop for real. 2. Son of Rambow An irresistibly inventive, slapstick celebration of pre-teen DIY movie-making from Hammer & Tongs (Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, REM’s “Imitation of Life” clip). Rushmore meets Science Of Sleep in early 1980s middle England. Shown out of competition, it sold for $8 million to Paramount. 3. Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten Hard to think of a filmmaker better qualified to do the honours than Julian Temple (though Martin Scorsese and Jim Jarmusch both figure as interviewees). This is both an affectionate tribute – with rare archive footage stretching right back to the first rehearsals of The Clash – and a multifaceted portrait of a complex man. 4. Rocket Science A minor gem from director Jeff Blitz, making his first fiction feature after the successful documentary Spellbound. Hal Hefner (Reece Daniel Thompson) is a tongue-tied teenager seduced into joining the school debate team by the ambitious Virginia (Anna Kendrick), who believes that the handicapped have something to prove. The spirit of Wes Anderson is never far away, but the movie refuses to go where you expect. 5. Snow Angels Couples falling in and out of love supply the emotional epiphanies in this small-town tragedy from director David Gordon Green, changing pace and working on a bigger canvas after George Washington and Undertow. With a knock-out Sam Rockwell performance at its heart, this ambitious drama was short-changed by the jury. 6. The Great Wall of Sound Green also produced this first rate debut from protégé Craig Zobel (shown out of competition). A throwback to Jarmusch-style minimalism, it’s the story of a couple of middle-aged trainee recording scouts who slowly realize the amateur acts they’re signing for a fee are pigeons in a scam. 7. Padre Nuestro The Best Dramatic Feature, but in truth the competition wasn’t too intense. Christopher Zalla’s movie is a grippingly directed and well-acted thriller tied to the plight of an illegal Mexican immigrant whose money and identity are stolen en route to meet his long-lost father in New York. It falls down in the script department, which is contrived to say the least. 8. Zoo Robinson Devor’s non-fiction film finds a somber, poetic path to understanding a taboo tale of sexual perversity: bestiality. The artful reconstructions withhold your pound of flesh, but if you let it, this is a rare movie that might challenge your preconceptions. 9. A Very British Gangster Donal Mac Intyre gets up close and personal with Manchester gang boss Dominic Noonan (who changed his name to Lattloy Fottfoy by deed poll). Noonan is an extraordinary character, and to his credit Mac Intyre sticks his camera where most of us would fear to tread (he even asks if he’s gay), but the film is indulgent and overlong, with several Manchester tunes too many. 10. Smiley Face Having reestablished his credibility with Mysterious Skin, Gregg Araki plays it unsafe with this wacky pothead comedy – and scores. The delectable Anna Faris stars, running the gamut from A-Z in pursuit of some very special cupcakes. And the worst… 1. Hounddog The most hyped movie turned out to be the biggest dog. Protestors unhappy about 12-year-old Dakota Fanning playing a rape victim were complaining for the wrong reasons: the movie is passably discreet, but it’s also an unpalatable stew of regressive southern clichés. 2. An American Crime Depressingly shrill melodrama with Catherine Keener’s bible basher beating the holy crap out of teen punching bag Ellen Paige, with a little help from the neighbourhood kids. Based on a true story, this had to be a lot more insightful to justify its sorry existence. 3. On the Road with Judas Kevin Corrigan and Aaron Ruell both play writer-director JJ Lask in this painfully self-aware travesty of a movie. For Lask, self-referentiality is only the ultimate in narcissism. TOM CHARITY

1. Manda Bala (Send a Bullet)

Jason Kohn’s dystopian doc is a brilliant, eye-opening essay on endemic corruption and inequality in Brazil, filtered through stories of kidnapping, frog farms, ear reconstruction and political chicanery. The winner of the Grand Jury Prize for Documentary lives up to the director’s own description: Robocop for real.

2. Son of Rambow

An irresistibly inventive, slapstick celebration of pre-teen DIY movie-making from Hammer & Tongs (Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, REM’s “Imitation of Life” clip). Rushmore meets Science Of Sleep in early 1980s middle England. Shown out of competition, it sold for $8 million to Paramount.

3. Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten

Hard to think of a filmmaker better qualified to do the honours than Julian Temple (though Martin Scorsese and Jim Jarmusch both figure as interviewees). This is both an affectionate tribute – with rare archive footage stretching right back to the first rehearsals of The Clash – and a multifaceted portrait of a complex man.

4. Rocket Science

A minor gem from director Jeff Blitz, making his first fiction feature after the successful documentary Spellbound. Hal Hefner (Reece Daniel Thompson) is a tongue-tied teenager seduced into joining the school debate team by the ambitious Virginia (Anna Kendrick), who believes that the handicapped have something to prove. The spirit of Wes Anderson is never far away, but the movie refuses to go where you expect.

5. Snow Angels

Couples falling in and out of love supply the emotional epiphanies in this small-town tragedy from director David Gordon Green, changing pace and working on a bigger canvas after George Washington and Undertow. With a knock-out Sam Rockwell performance at its heart, this ambitious drama was short-changed by the jury.

6. The Great Wall of Sound

Green also produced this first rate debut from protégé Craig Zobel (shown out of competition). A throwback to Jarmusch-style minimalism, it’s the story of a couple of middle-aged trainee recording scouts who slowly realize the amateur acts they’re signing for a fee are pigeons in a scam.

7. Padre Nuestro

The Best Dramatic Feature, but in truth the competition wasn’t too intense. Christopher Zalla’s movie is a grippingly directed and well-acted thriller tied to the plight of an illegal Mexican immigrant whose money and identity are stolen en route to meet his long-lost father in New York. It falls down in the script department, which is contrived to say the least.

8. Zoo

Robinson Devor’s non-fiction film finds a somber, poetic path to understanding a taboo tale of sexual perversity: bestiality. The artful reconstructions withhold your pound of flesh, but if you let it, this is a rare movie that might challenge your preconceptions.

9. A Very British Gangster

Donal Mac Intyre gets up close and personal with Manchester gang boss Dominic Noonan (who changed his name to Lattloy Fottfoy by deed poll). Noonan is an extraordinary character, and to his credit Mac Intyre sticks his camera where most of us would fear to tread (he even asks if he’s gay), but the film is indulgent and overlong, with several Manchester tunes too many.

10. Smiley Face

Having reestablished his credibility with Mysterious Skin, Gregg Araki plays it unsafe with this wacky pothead comedy – and scores. The delectable Anna Faris stars, running the gamut from A-Z in pursuit of some very special cupcakes.

And the worst…

1. Hounddog

The most hyped movie turned out to be the biggest dog. Protestors unhappy about 12-year-old Dakota Fanning playing a rape victim were complaining for the wrong reasons: the movie is passably discreet, but it’s also an unpalatable stew of regressive southern clichés.

2. An American Crime

Depressingly shrill melodrama with Catherine Keener’s bible basher beating the holy crap out of teen punching bag Ellen Paige, with a little help from the neighbourhood kids. Based on a true story, this had to be a lot more insightful to justify its sorry existence.

3. On the Road with Judas

Kevin Corrigan and Aaron Ruell both play writer-director JJ Lask in this painfully self-aware travesty of a movie. For Lask, self-referentiality is only the ultimate in narcissism.

TOM CHARITY

Richmond Fontaine – Thirteen Cities

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Richmond Fontaine – Thirteen Cities

Willy Vlautin has not been idle since the 2005 release of his sparse masterpiece, The Fitzgerald. There was an album of re-recorded work, showing Richmond Fontaine’s Portland roots in hardcore; an internet-only live set; and a novel, The Motel Life, which read like a prose version of one of his songs, following two losers round Reno as they waited for their luck to change. As the laureate of the lost, the lonely, and the rootless, Vlautin was never likely to stand still, and while there is no dramatic change in the texture of his lyrics, the geography has altered. Vlautin’s drifters are still skirting the borders of oblivion, but their tales unfold against a desert backdrop. On “Ghost I Became”, he sends this stark postcard: “Desert dreams/Always sunny/And never grey/No noise/Just wind and sage.” The words are spare, but the sound has expanded. Recording in Tucson, Arizona, producer JD Foster drafted Giant Sand’s Howe Gelb (piano on “$87 And A Guilty Conscience That Gets Worse The Longer I Go”) and Calexico’s Joey Burns and Jacob Valenzuela. The widescreen sound, with the melancholy mists of Paul Brainard’s pedal steel cooling Calexico’s Mexican spaghetti stylings, is a surprise after The Fitzgerald. Sometimes it masks the blunt beauty of Vlautin’s storytelling, but it can also add a noirish sheen: Valenzuela’s gorgeous trumpet on “The Kid From Belmont Street” turns a maudlin song into a shimmering pulp opera. Vlautin has been inspired by his surroundings, and there are at least two classics. The closer, “Lost In This World” (with Burns on piano) is worthy of early Tom Waits, though Vlautin’s voice displays vulnerability where Waits offers beat-up defiance. “St Ides, Parked Cars, And Other People’s Homes” is little more than a short poem, and Vlautin almost talks the words. But when he gets to the part about “fuck-ups, hanging on in our own way”, you know, as ever, he’s not faking. ALASTAIR McKAY To hear Vlautin tell us about Thirteen Cities - Click here for the Uncut Q&A

Willy Vlautin has not been idle since the 2005 release of his sparse masterpiece, The Fitzgerald. There was an album of re-recorded work, showing Richmond Fontaine’s Portland roots in hardcore; an internet-only live set; and a novel, The Motel Life, which read like a prose version of one of his songs, following two losers round Reno as they waited for their luck to change.

As the laureate of the lost, the lonely, and the rootless, Vlautin was never likely to stand still, and while there is no dramatic change in the texture of his lyrics, the geography has altered. Vlautin’s drifters are still skirting the borders of oblivion, but their tales unfold against a desert backdrop. On “Ghost I Became”, he sends this stark postcard: “Desert dreams/Always sunny/And never grey/No noise/Just wind and sage.”

The words are spare, but the sound has expanded. Recording in Tucson, Arizona, producer JD Foster drafted Giant Sand’s Howe Gelb (piano on “$87 And A Guilty Conscience That Gets Worse The Longer I Go”) and Calexico’s Joey Burns and Jacob Valenzuela. The widescreen sound, with the melancholy mists of Paul Brainard’s pedal steel cooling Calexico’s Mexican spaghetti stylings, is a surprise after The Fitzgerald. Sometimes it masks the blunt beauty of Vlautin’s storytelling, but it can also add a noirish sheen: Valenzuela’s gorgeous trumpet on “The Kid From Belmont Street” turns a maudlin song into a shimmering pulp opera.

Vlautin has been inspired by his surroundings, and there are at least two classics. The closer, “Lost In This World” (with Burns on piano) is worthy of early Tom Waits, though Vlautin’s voice displays vulnerability where Waits offers beat-up defiance. “St Ides, Parked Cars, And Other People’s Homes” is little more than a short poem, and Vlautin almost talks the words. But when he gets to the part about “fuck-ups, hanging on in our own way”, you know, as ever, he’s not faking.

ALASTAIR McKAY

To hear Vlautin tell us about Thirteen Cities – Click here for the Uncut Q&A

Cold War Kids – Robbers & Cowards

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Cold War Kids – Robbers & Cowards

The emergence of The Hold Steady has prompted chatter of a blue-collar rock revival in America. The gothic Americana and wry whimsy that are US indie’s current default settings are purportedly on the way out, leaving the spotlight to dead-end dreamers who blow their paychecks at the bar on a Friday night in fervent but futile pursuit of the runaway American dream. Few of the bands involved have punched the clock for longer than a college vacation, but that hardly seems the point. Cold War Kids have been conveniently tucked into this rickety scene, thanks to their piano-propelled bar-room stomps and noble tales of night shifts, alcoholic breadwinners and “street thugs who clip the tyres”. It’s not an entirely errant piece of pigeonholing, but there’s a starchy, precocious detachment to Cold War Kids’ street-level chronicles that distances them from their working-class characters. And while The Hold Steady appear to find redemption through hedonistic bonhomie, Cold War Kids subscribe to a higher power: the band formed at a private Christian university – although the song “God, Make Up Your Mind” suggests that, like the best bluesmen, their faith is not unquestioning. Cold War Kids originally hail from suburban LA, which belies their wan complexions and fondness for sensible knits. Their music, too, is tantalisingly unplaceable. Swampy bass rumbles rub up against spiky post-punk guitar chimes, primitive percussion and the aforementioned earthy piano boogie that gives Cold War Kids their Springsteen-esque majesty. Nathan Willett’s voice veers from a cracked Jack White croon to a sensual Jeff Buckley drawl. But overall their closest musical compatriots are heroic Canadians Wolf Parade and Belgian art-drunks Deus. There’s a real gift for drama here, as revealed by the tempo abruptly slowing down in “We Used To Vacation”’s confessional chorus, and by Willett’s sleazy, metaphorical evocation of “the muck and mire” on “Hang Me Up To Dry”. Give Cold War Kids an episode of Six Feet Under or The Wire to script and soundtrack, and they’d excel. SAM RICHARDS

The emergence of The Hold Steady has prompted chatter of a blue-collar rock revival in America. The gothic Americana and wry whimsy that are US indie’s current default settings are purportedly on the way out, leaving the spotlight to dead-end dreamers who blow their paychecks at the bar on a Friday night in fervent but futile pursuit of the runaway American dream. Few of the bands involved have punched the clock for longer than a college vacation, but that hardly seems the point.

Cold War Kids have been conveniently tucked into this rickety scene, thanks to their piano-propelled bar-room stomps and noble tales of night shifts, alcoholic breadwinners and “street thugs who clip the tyres”. It’s not an entirely errant piece of pigeonholing, but there’s a starchy, precocious detachment to Cold War Kids’ street-level chronicles that distances them from their working-class characters. And while The Hold Steady appear to find redemption through hedonistic bonhomie, Cold War Kids subscribe to a higher power: the band formed at a private Christian university – although the song “God, Make Up Your Mind” suggests that, like the best bluesmen, their faith is not unquestioning.

Cold War Kids originally hail from suburban LA, which belies their wan complexions and fondness for sensible knits. Their music, too, is tantalisingly unplaceable. Swampy bass rumbles rub up against spiky post-punk guitar chimes, primitive percussion and the aforementioned earthy piano boogie that gives Cold War Kids their Springsteen-esque majesty. Nathan Willett’s voice veers from a cracked Jack White croon to a sensual Jeff Buckley drawl. But overall their closest musical compatriots are heroic Canadians Wolf Parade and Belgian art-drunks Deus.

There’s a real gift for drama here, as revealed by the tempo abruptly slowing down in “We Used To Vacation”’s confessional chorus, and by Willett’s sleazy, metaphorical evocation of “the muck and mire” on “Hang Me Up To Dry”. Give Cold War Kids an episode of Six Feet Under or The Wire to script and soundtrack, and they’d excel.

SAM RICHARDS

Bloc Party – A Weekend In The City

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Bloc Party – A Weekend In The City

From edgy and earnest to puffed-up and precious, working with Snow Patrol producer Jacknife Lee seems to have sterilised Bloc Party – or perhaps all the partying Kele Okereke sings about on this album has numbed his integrity. Either way, A Weekend In The City is a very different beast to the London quartet’s million-selling debut. This is Okereke’s record - his stories, one assumes. But even the most ardent admirer will struggle to swallow these gauche tales of hipsters gallivanting around East London, looking for kicks in seedy pubs (“On”, “Song For Clay (Disappear Here)”), projecting middle-class guilt. The other three – ostensibly Okereke’s backing band – are on better form. Guitarist Russell Lissack enchants on “Kreuzberg” and there’s a vaguely daring, Muse-ly electronic approach to indie anthems “The Prayer” and “Waiting For The 7.18”. But still, for an album that strives to articulate the youthful pleasure-rush of love, drugs and power, this is a worryingly pedestrian effort. PIERS MARTIN

From edgy and earnest to puffed-up and precious, working with Snow Patrol producer Jacknife Lee seems to have sterilised Bloc Party – or perhaps all the partying Kele Okereke sings about on this album has numbed his integrity. Either way, A Weekend In The City is a very different beast to the London quartet’s million-selling debut.

This is Okereke’s record – his stories, one assumes. But even the most ardent admirer will struggle to swallow these gauche tales of hipsters gallivanting around East London, looking for kicks in seedy pubs (“On”, “Song For Clay (Disappear Here)”), projecting middle-class guilt. The other three – ostensibly Okereke’s backing band – are on better form.

Guitarist Russell Lissack enchants on “Kreuzberg” and there’s a vaguely daring, Muse-ly electronic approach to indie anthems “The Prayer” and “Waiting For The 7.18”. But still, for an album that strives to articulate the youthful pleasure-rush of love, drugs and power, this is a worryingly pedestrian effort.

PIERS MARTIN

Mika – Life In Cartoon Motion

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Mika – Life In Cartoon Motion

Another ready-made 1970s-style ‘guilty pleasure’ to join Scissor Sisters and The Feeling on the Radio 2 playlists and the supermarket racks, Mika (pronounced ‘Mee-ka’) is a Lebanese-born, Paris-raised dandy who seems to have found a portal into Trident Studios, circa 1973. His elegant songcraft often recalls Freddie Mercury, particularly the “Killer Queen”-ish chamber pop of “Billy Brown”, “Grace Kelly” and “Stuck In The Middle”. Less successful are the attempts at disco, particularly “Big Girl” (his anthem to the larger lady) or the hi-NRG stomper “Relax, Take It Easy” (an unfortunate ringer for Cutting Crew’s “Died In Your Arms”). And his occasional classical pastiches and between-song skits quickly irritate. JOHN LEWIS

Another ready-made 1970s-style ‘guilty pleasure’ to join Scissor Sisters and The Feeling on the Radio 2 playlists and the supermarket racks, Mika (pronounced ‘Mee-ka’) is a Lebanese-born, Paris-raised dandy who seems to have found a portal into Trident Studios, circa 1973.

His elegant songcraft often recalls Freddie Mercury, particularly the “Killer Queen”-ish chamber pop of “Billy Brown”, “Grace Kelly” and “Stuck In The Middle”. Less successful are the attempts at disco, particularly “Big Girl” (his anthem to the larger lady) or the hi-NRG stomper “Relax, Take It Easy” (an unfortunate ringer for Cutting Crew’s “Died In Your Arms”). And his occasional classical pastiches and between-song skits quickly irritate.

JOHN LEWIS

Simply Red To Play Intimate Ronnie Scott’s Gigs

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Simply Red To Play Intimate Ronnie Scott’s Gigs

Prior to their latest studio album release, “Stay,” Simply Red have announced that they will play two special preview gigs in the capital, this week. The group that sold out three nights at the Albert Hall last year will play the legendary Ronnie Scott’s club, in London’s West End tomorrow (January 31) and Thursday (February 1). Simply Red will preview new material from the album, due for release on March 5, backed by an additional five-piece band. The band, fronted by Mancunian soulman Mick Hucknall, are also due to play Manchester’s Lite Bar on February 3, and Oran Mor in Glasgow on February 4, before heading on a European tour. Click here for more details from Simplyred.com

Prior to their latest studio album release, “Stay,” Simply Red have announced that they will play two special preview gigs in the capital, this week.

The group that sold out three nights at the Albert Hall last year will play the legendary Ronnie Scott’s club, in London’s West End tomorrow (January 31) and Thursday (February 1).

Simply Red will preview new material from the album, due for release on March 5, backed by an additional five-piece band.

The band, fronted by Mancunian soulman Mick Hucknall, are also due to play Manchester’s Lite Bar on February 3, and Oran Mor in Glasgow on February 4, before heading on a European tour.

Click here for more details from Simplyred.com

Flaming Lips/Pete Townshend sessions set for release

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Flaming Lips/Pete Townshend sessions set for release

The Flaming Lips’ cover version of The Who’s classic 1971 single “Baba O’Reilly” is to appear on a compilation of live jam sessions, called “In The Attic”. Masterminded by Townshend, and run by his partner Rachel Fuller, “In The Attic” is a weekly webcast held in Pete Townshend’s studios, where musicians get to perform stripped down and unplugged. Pete Townshend regularly joins in the ‘jams’ and the album features several tracks that The Who guitarist plays on, including the Lips’ version of “Baba O’Reilly”. Speaking about what it is like to play such an informal gig with a true music legend like Townshend, The Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne said: “First off you are nervous about meeting and ‘jamming’ with them – and then you get the intense and wonderful Mr Townshend, who is full of his famous energy and ready to accommodate any musical endeavour that spontaneously erupts.” As well as the Lips, several other contemporary musicians appear on the “In The Attic” jams including The Kooks, Editors, Razorlight and The Raconteurs. Townshend also contributes a couple of solo tracks to the album – “Acid Queen” and “A Quick One While He’s Away”. For further information about the sessions – click here for www.intheattic.tv

The Flaming Lips’ cover version of The Who’s classic 1971 single “Baba O’Reilly” is to appear on a compilation of live jam sessions, called “In The Attic”.

Masterminded by Townshend, and run by his partner Rachel Fuller, “In The Attic” is a weekly webcast held in Pete Townshend’s studios, where musicians get to perform stripped down and unplugged.

Pete Townshend regularly joins in the ‘jams’ and the album features several tracks that The Who guitarist plays on, including the Lips’ version of “Baba O’Reilly”.

Speaking about what it is like to play such an informal gig with a true music legend like Townshend, The Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne said: “First off you are nervous about meeting and ‘jamming’ with them – and then you get the intense and wonderful Mr Townshend, who is full of his famous energy and ready to accommodate any musical endeavour that spontaneously erupts.”

As well as the Lips, several other contemporary musicians appear on the “In The Attic” jams including The Kooks, Editors, Razorlight and The Raconteurs.

Townshend also contributes a couple of solo tracks to the album – “Acid Queen” and “A Quick One While He’s Away”.

For further information about the sessions – click here for www.intheattic.tv

Stars’ Guitars To Rock Harrods

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Stars’ Guitars To Rock Harrods

The world’s biggest display of vintage and contemporary guitars is about to open at major London department store, Harrods, this Thursday (February 1). The collection features in excess of 150 guitars, including the Rickenbacker “Frying Pan”, the world’s first electric guitar from 1931. This will be the very first time this guitar has been seen outside the US. Celebrated musicians whose guitars will be hanging from Harrods’ walls include Keith Richards, Neil Young, John Lee Hooker and Noel Gallagher. Born To Rock will also feature a charity auction called “RockCouture” of 50 uniquely customised guitars donated to raise funds for charities such as Maggie's Caring Centres, Amnesty International and Keep A Child Alive. U2 frontman Bono, former member of Blur Graham Coxon and Duran Duran’s Nick Rhodes have all made designer guitar donations. “Born To Rock: The Life And Times of the Electric Guitar (1931-2007)” takes place at Harrods, from February 2 – March 3. Admission to the public is free of charge. For more information about the vintage guitars - click here for www.Borntock.tv

The world’s biggest display of vintage and contemporary guitars is about to open at major London department store, Harrods, this Thursday (February 1).

The collection features in excess of 150 guitars, including the Rickenbacker “Frying Pan”, the world’s first electric guitar from 1931. This will be the very first time this guitar has been seen outside the US.

Celebrated musicians whose guitars will be hanging from Harrods’ walls include Keith Richards, Neil Young, John Lee Hooker and Noel Gallagher.

Born To Rock will also feature a charity auction called “RockCouture” of 50 uniquely customised guitars donated to raise funds for charities such as Maggie’s Caring Centres, Amnesty International and Keep A Child Alive.

U2 frontman Bono, former member of Blur Graham Coxon and Duran Duran’s Nick Rhodes have all made designer guitar donations.

“Born To Rock: The Life And Times of the Electric Guitar (1931-2007)” takes place at Harrods, from February 2 – March 3.

Admission to the public is free of charge.

For more information about the vintage guitars – click here for www.Borntock.tv

Get set for Kiss: the comic book heroes

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Get set for Kiss: the comic book heroes

Veteran US rockers Kiss have created their very own comic publishing company, Kiss Comics Group, in partnership with production company Platinum Studios. Although this is not the first time the flamboyant band have been animated, this will be the first time founding members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley will have full creative control. Under the name Kiss Catalog Ltd, Kiss will produce their own original comic-book characters in multi-formats, including online, on television and for use in merchandising. Kiss have high ambitions for the new venture, they intend to produce the ‘largest comic book ever published’ with their first outing, “Kiss 4K.” The book follows the story of Simmons and co’s transformation from rock stars into eco-warrior spirits, and will be published as a three-feet tall comic-book, priced at $50. Kiss band members have said that they will be involved in all day-to-day decisions about the co-venture with Platinum. Platinum chairman, Scott Rosenberg explained that the new deal will ingrain comics into the Kiss legend: "The Kiss comics that have come out were licences; they weren't truly part of the mythology. This is all of us working together. [Simmons and Stanley] care about every panel of every comic and how an image looks on a shirt."

Veteran US rockers Kiss have created their very own comic publishing company, Kiss Comics Group, in partnership with production company Platinum Studios.

Although this is not the first time the flamboyant band have been animated, this will be the first time founding members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley will have full creative control.

Under the name Kiss Catalog Ltd, Kiss will produce their own original comic-book characters in multi-formats, including online, on television and for use in merchandising.

Kiss have high ambitions for the new venture, they intend to produce the ‘largest comic book ever published’ with their first outing, “Kiss 4K.”

The book follows the story of Simmons and co’s transformation from rock stars into eco-warrior spirits, and will be published as a three-feet tall comic-book, priced at $50.

Kiss band members have said that they will be involved in all day-to-day decisions about the co-venture with Platinum.

Platinum chairman, Scott Rosenberg explained that the new deal will ingrain comics into the Kiss legend: “The Kiss comics that have come out were licences; they weren’t truly part of the mythology. This is all of us working together. [Simmons and Stanley] care about every panel of every comic and how an image looks on a shirt.”

Sgt Pepper sleeve designer heads up all-star ICA exhibition

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Sgt Pepper sleeve designer heads up all-star ICA exhibition

Musicians and artists including Peter Blake, Bloc Party and Alison Goldfrapp are to contribute a series of images interpreting the theme of “Tomorrow” for a brand new exhibition at London’s ICA this May. The “All Tomorrow’s Pictures” project aims to “highlight the creative potential of fusing art and technology” as part of the cultural venue’s 60th anniversary celebrations. All 59 artists taking part need to produce their image or series of images using a Sony Ericsson K800i, the latest Cybershot phone. A 60th contributor to the exhibition will be chosen by a public competition next month. “All Tomorrow’s Pictures” will run at the ICA from May 30 – June 8.

Musicians and artists including Peter Blake, Bloc Party and Alison Goldfrapp are to contribute a series of images interpreting the theme of “Tomorrow” for a brand new exhibition at London’s ICA this May.

The “All Tomorrow’s Pictures” project aims to “highlight the creative potential of fusing art and technology” as part of the cultural venue’s 60th anniversary celebrations.

All 59 artists taking part need to produce their image or series of images using a Sony Ericsson K800i, the latest Cybershot phone.

A 60th contributor to the exhibition will be chosen by a public competition next month.

“All Tomorrow’s Pictures” will run at the ICA from May 30 – June 8.

Find Bono Through The Church Of England!

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Find Bono Through The Church Of England!

U2 work in mysterious ways The Church of England is planning to replace traditional hymns with hit songs by Irish sensation U2 in an effort to uplift their congregations. The first ‘U2-charist’ will be held in the communion service. Plans for the service will be held in a Lincoln church in May. Adding to the ‘uplift’ effect, a lighting system will pulse along with the beat and a giant karaoke-style sing-a-long screen will display the words to songs such as ‘Beautiful Day’ and ‘Mysterious Ways’. For the venue’s capacity crowd of 500, the “dancing and waving [of] hands” will be allowed. Rev Timothy Ellis, The Bishop of Grantham says: “The Millennium Development Goals are extremely important for the future of the world!” The idea for using U2’s songs was inspired by Bono’s figurehead status in the fight against world poverty.

U2 work in mysterious ways

The Church of England is planning to replace traditional hymns with hit songs by Irish sensation U2 in an effort to uplift their congregations. The first ‘U2-charist’ will be held in the communion service.

Plans for the service will be held in a Lincoln church in May. Adding to the ‘uplift’ effect, a lighting system will pulse along with the beat and a giant karaoke-style sing-a-long screen will display the words to songs such as ‘Beautiful Day’ and ‘Mysterious Ways’.

For the venue’s capacity crowd of 500, the “dancing and waving [of] hands” will be allowed.

Rev Timothy Ellis, The Bishop of Grantham says: “The Millennium Development Goals are extremely important for the future of the world!”

The idea for using U2’s songs was inspired by Bono’s figurehead status in the fight against world poverty.

Pearl Jam Return To UK

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Pearl Jam Return To UK

Pearl Jam have announced that they will play a rare UK live show at London’s Wembley Arena this June. The date is part of their 13-date Summer European tour. The show in London on June 18 will see the entire floor section of Wembley Arena reserved for members of Pearl Jam’s fan club. Pearl Jam only headlined the Carling Weekend festival last year – and it is unprecedented that the band should return to the UK so soon. The group’s manager, Kelly Curtis, said they were looking forward to playing: "Historically, there have been five years or so between our visits to Europe, so it's a treat to go back again.” Pearl Jam will play the following European venues in June: Lisbon, Passeio Maritimo Alges, (June 8) Madrid, Festimad (9) Munich, Olympichalle (12) Poland, Chorzow Stadion Slaski (13) Italy, city/venue TBA (15) Vienna, Nova Rock Festival (16) London, Wembley Arena (18) Dusseldorf, Germany, LTU Arena (21) Tuttlingen Germany, Southside Festival (23) Scheebel, Germany, Hurricane Festival (24) Copenhagen, Forum (26) Nijmegen, Holland, Goeffert Park (28) Werchter, Belgium, Werchter Festiva (29)

Pearl Jam have announced that they will play a rare UK live show at London’s Wembley Arena this June.

The date is part of their 13-date Summer European tour.

The show in London on June 18 will see the entire floor section of Wembley Arena reserved for members of Pearl Jam’s fan club.

Pearl Jam only headlined the Carling Weekend festival last year – and it is unprecedented that the band should return to the UK so soon.

The group’s manager, Kelly Curtis, said they were looking forward to playing: “Historically, there have been five years or so between our visits to Europe, so it’s a treat to go back again.”

Pearl Jam will play the following European venues in June:

Lisbon, Passeio Maritimo Alges, (June 8)

Madrid, Festimad (9)

Munich, Olympichalle (12)

Poland, Chorzow Stadion Slaski (13)

Italy, city/venue TBA (15)

Vienna, Nova Rock Festival (16)

London, Wembley Arena (18)

Dusseldorf, Germany, LTU Arena (21)

Tuttlingen Germany, Southside Festival (23)

Scheebel, Germany, Hurricane Festival (24)

Copenhagen, Forum (26)

Nijmegen, Holland, Goeffert Park (28)

Werchter, Belgium, Werchter Festiva (29)

Nirvana will “turn your kids gay”

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Nirvana will “turn your kids gay”

Listening to The Doors, Wilco or even Nirvana will turn your children gay, according to an internet database created by Donnie Davies, a “reformed” homosexual who – in his own words – found a way to “escape” from being gay. Davies believes that “God hates homosexuals”, and has compiled a list of music artists for Christian families to avoid, claiming that: “One of the most dangerous ways homosexuality invades family life is through popular music.” Examples of bands on Davies’ hit list included, surprisingly, ‘60s icons The Doors, country rockers Wilco and Nirvana. Not so surprisingly, the flamboyant pop of Scissor Sisters, Erasure and Queen also makes the cut. Sir Elton John gets a special mention as being “really gay”. Rapper Jay-Z, Ravi Shankar and Lou Reed’s Velvet Underground have also made Davies’ list, which can be seen in full on his website, www.lovegodsway.org. Davies has also posted a list of ‘safe’ bands that would have a better influence, and help you on “the journey to normalcy”. Like Cyndi Lauper, for instance… To view Donnie Davies’ site, click here

Listening to The Doors, Wilco or even Nirvana will turn your children gay, according to an internet database created by Donnie Davies, a “reformed” homosexual who – in his own words – found a way to “escape” from being gay.

Davies believes that “God hates homosexuals”, and has compiled a list of music artists for Christian families to avoid, claiming that: “One of the most dangerous ways homosexuality invades family life is through popular music.”

Examples of bands on Davies’ hit list included, surprisingly, ‘60s icons The Doors, country rockers Wilco and Nirvana. Not so surprisingly, the flamboyant pop of Scissor Sisters, Erasure and Queen also makes the cut. Sir Elton John gets a special mention as being “really gay”.

Rapper Jay-Z, Ravi Shankar and Lou Reed’s Velvet Underground have also made Davies’ list, which can be seen in full on his website, www.lovegodsway.org.

Davies has also posted a list of ‘safe’ bands that would have a better influence, and help you on “the journey to normalcy”. Like Cyndi Lauper, for instance…

To view Donnie Davies’ site, click here

Willy Mason – Playing A Living Room Near You…

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Willy Mason – Playing A Living Room Near You…

Singer-songwriters often profess their love of “intimate” gigs, but Uncut-acclaimed artist Willy Mason has taken things a little further – he’s inviting fans to nominate their own homes as venues. The Martha’s Vineyard troubadour’s second album, “If The Ocean Gets Rough”, is released on March 5. As a taster of his new material, he is embarking on a two-week tour in February, and he wants you to name the setting. Whether your front room, garage or garden – or even the Dog And Duck on the high street – all Mason asks is that you can provide “electricity and a small and friendly audience”. If you’ve fancied putting on a gig in your front room – or something more exciting than karaoke and a quiz night at your local, here’s your chance. For more details, and to nominate a venue, click here

Singer-songwriters often profess their love of “intimate” gigs, but Uncut-acclaimed artist Willy Mason has taken things a little further – he’s inviting fans to nominate their own homes as venues.

The Martha’s Vineyard troubadour’s second album, “If The Ocean Gets Rough”, is released on March 5. As a taster of his new material, he is embarking on a two-week tour in February, and he wants you to name the setting.

Whether your front room, garage or garden – or even the Dog And Duck on the high street – all Mason asks is that you can provide “electricity and a small and friendly audience”.

If you’ve fancied putting on a gig in your front room – or something more exciting than karaoke and a quiz night at your local, here’s your chance.

For more details, and to nominate a venue, click here

Scarlett Johansson Lands New Role – As Cinderella

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Scarlett Johansson Lands New Role – As Cinderella

Scarlett Johansson has landed a new glamorous role – as Disney’s Cinderella – for a new ad campaign. The actress, clad in a designer ball gown and sporting a tiara worth £165,000, was snapped by celebrated photographer Annie Leibovitz for a new Disney magazine advertising campaign. Leibovitz also photographed singer Beyoncé Knowles as Alice from Alice In Wonderland. She will appear sitting in a giant teacup, accompanied by country star Lyle Lovett as the March Hare. Footballer David Beckham has also been enlisted for the campaign – which promotes Disney’s US theme parks – as Sleeping Beauty’s Prince. His photoshoot took place shortly before the ex-England captain signed for US soccer team, Los Angeles Galaxy.

Scarlett Johansson has landed a new glamorous role – as Disney’s Cinderella – for a new ad campaign.

The actress, clad in a designer ball gown and sporting a tiara worth £165,000, was snapped by celebrated photographer Annie Leibovitz for a new Disney magazine advertising campaign.

Leibovitz also photographed singer Beyoncé Knowles as Alice from Alice In Wonderland. She will appear sitting in a giant teacup, accompanied by country star Lyle Lovett as the March Hare.

Footballer David Beckham has also been enlisted for the campaign – which promotes Disney’s US theme parks – as Sleeping Beauty’s Prince. His photoshoot took place shortly before the ex-England captain signed for US soccer team, Los Angeles Galaxy.

Smashing Pumpkins play Europe!

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Smashing Pumpkins play Europe!

Smashing Pumpkins have confirmed that their first headline shows of 2007 will be at two German festivals in early June. They will headline Rock Am Ring, in Nürburg on June 2, and at Rock Im Park, in Nuremberg on June 3. As previously reported on www.www.uncut.co.uk, the band – fronted by guitarist and singer Billy Corgan – have reformed, seven years after disbanding. Other bands confirmed to play alongside the Pumpkins at the festivals include Muse, Arctic Monkeys and My Chemical Romance. Corgan, working once more with the band’s original drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, has yet to confirm who will replace guitarist James Iha and bassist Melissa Auf Der Maur in the new line-up. A new Smashing Pumpkins album is pencilled in for release this summer, and more festival appearances are expected to be confirmed soon. Click here for updates from www.Smashingpumpkins.com

Smashing Pumpkins have confirmed that their first headline shows of 2007 will be at two German festivals in early June.

They will headline Rock Am Ring, in Nürburg on June 2, and at Rock Im Park, in Nuremberg on June 3.

As previously reported on www.www.uncut.co.uk, the band – fronted by guitarist and singer Billy Corgan – have reformed, seven years after disbanding.

Other bands confirmed to play alongside the Pumpkins at the festivals include Muse, Arctic Monkeys and My Chemical Romance.

Corgan, working once more with the band’s original drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, has yet to confirm who will replace guitarist James Iha and bassist Melissa Auf Der Maur in the new line-up.

A new Smashing Pumpkins album is pencilled in for release this summer, and more festival appearances are expected to be confirmed soon.

Click here for updates from www.Smashingpumpkins.com

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